Saturday, 6 June 2015

Happy composting in June: hints & tips

Composting in action & BBQ whatever the weather!

In a big open space, you run out of composting bins pretty soon, so here is how we are doing our composting this year. First we use straw, scrunched-up newspaper, bubble-wrap bits and plastic bottles pushed into the gaps in the pallet, which makes up the sides of our container.

These help to insulate the heap and keep it warm, but they are loosely packed in order to let the air in. We then start making our biomass 'lasagne' with alternate layers of straw, pulled-up weeds, cut comfrey and nettles all watered in with really smelly drowning fluid and sludge from the drowned horsetail and bindweed bins.

The whole heap is covered with two old sleeping mats to keep it warm and to keep the rain out. This is a great use of materials that are usually discarded - it gives them an extra lease of life.

To finish off, we cover the front of our heap with some twinwall roofing to insulate it and add another pallet to hold it in.

Now we are waiting for it to cook. The weather is getting much warmer...